PROP 2: Unforgettable case

I have served as a Certified Nurse Midwife in our community since 1991 and have delivered more than 2,600 babies at Kootenai Health. As a result of this experience, I believe it is imperative that the Medicaid Expansion Bill pass.

A case early in my career haunts me. A pregnant woman in our community could not get care because all of the OB providers in town required $200 for initial care. Without prenatal care, she developed seizures due to extremely high blood pressure (eclampsia) and had to be treated in the ER, then in the ICU. One can only guess at the cost of this hospitalization which could have been prevented with insurance and health care.

Taking care of the uninsured among us should be a bipartisan issue. When families have no resources other than the ER, the cost to the taxpayers greatly exceeds what the Medicaid Expansion Fund will cost.

Please help the 62,000 hardworking Idahoans who do not qualify for insurance. Vote YES on PROP 2.

PAM HOLCOMB

Coeur d’Alene